IATSE Local 22 on Organizing the Arena Stage and Building Momentum

Nick Arancibia, Vice President, and Ryan Chavka, Business Agent of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 22, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the union's third regional theater organizing victory in six years, Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., following earlier wins at Signature Theater in 2020 and Shakespeare Theatre in 2022.

The two organizers walked through how each campaign built on the last, why younger workers are increasingly motivated by work-life balance as much as wages and why the momentum in D.C.'s entertainment industry is now strong enough that some venue managers are calling the union themselves.

• IATSE Local 22's organizing momentum at Washington, D.C. regional theaters has built steadily over six years, with each campaign creating the foundation for the next. It has now expanded into the rock and roll venue space with a simultaneous organizing drive at I.M.P.-operated venues, like the 9:30 Club, giving the Local multiple contract negotiations to manage at once.
• The Signature Theater organizing drive in 2020 was triggered almost overnight when management told staff to expect 60-hour workweeks for the next 52 consecutive weeks. That demand prompted workers to call the union immediately, which led to a six-week card-signing drive. That resulted in new NLRB case law as it became the first election to convert from in-person to mail ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Younger workers entering D.C.'s entertainment industry are increasingly choosing employers that offer union healthcare and retirement benefits, and some non-union venues have begun reaching out to IATSE Local 22 to inquire about the cost of unionization after watching their workforces migrate to union shops. Arancibia and Chavka said it created momentum they have never seen before.

Three Theaters, Six Years, One Lesson: Momentum Compounds

IATSE Local 22's Nick Arancibia and Ryan Chavka joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast to share the story of the union's third regional theater organizing win in six years and what it says about where D.C.'s entertainment labor movement is headed.

The three wins, Signature Theater in 2020, Shakespeare Theatre in 2022 and now Arena Stage, did not happen in isolation. Each campaign was built directly on the last, with workers at later drives already aware of earlier victories before organizing even began.

A Pandemic, a Mail Ballot and a Six-Week Sprint

The Signature Theater campaign began almost accidentally. After 18 months of quiet conversations, management dropped a bombshell: prepare for 60-hour weeks, every week, for the next full year. Workers called the union that same day. In six weeks, Arancibia and Chavka signed cards with all 80 workers and filed for an election.

That election became NLRB case law when it converted from in-person to mail ballots at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — the first such conversion in U.S. history. The 60-hour workweeks went to zero almost immediately when theaters shut down entirely in March 2020.

Pay Equity and the Work-Life Balance Shift

Systemic pay inequity, the gap between what union and non-union theater workers earn for the same work, was a central driver across all three campaigns. So was work-life balance. Arancibia noted that more young workers admit that wages matter, but working conditions matter just as much.

They want predictable schedules, guaranteed days off and rules that cannot quietly erode. Chavka traced that shift to the post-2008 financial crisis period, when employer flexibility toward workers disappeared and did not return. The union contract, he said, has become the mechanism for reclaiming it.

Beyond Theater: Rock and Roll and a Shifting Market

The momentum has extended into the rock and roll venue space, with a simultaneous organizing drive at I.M.P.-operated venues, like the 9:30 Club, giving the Local multiple contract negotiations to manage at once. And in a development Arancibia called a great start, some non-union venues in D.C. have begun calling the union directly to ask about the cost of unionization. Workers are leaving for union shops that offer healthcare and retirement benefits, and he said they cannot stop the attrition.

IATSE Local 22's first organizing drive failed. They kept going. The message to any entertainment worker in D.C. — and beyond — is simple: it is worth it.

More information on IATSE is available at iatse.net.

Go Behind the Scenes of the Labor Movement

Every victory at the bargaining table starts with workers standing together. From the shop floor to the statehouse, hear how activists are fighting for better wages, safer conditions and a stronger future. Subscribe to the America's Work Force Union Podcast to get the latest interviews with the leaders and organizers building worker power across America.